Stock quotation printer



y 7, 1968 L. A. NASH 3,382,319

' STOCK QUOTATION PRINTER Filed March 17, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ToR LEONARD NASH May 7, 1968 L. A. NASH STOCK QUOTATION PRINTER 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 17, 1964 United States Patent Ofifice 3,32,319 Patented May 7, 1968 3,382,319 STOCK QUOTATION PRINTER Leonard A. Nash, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Teletype Corporation, Slrokie, 112., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 352,459 3 Claims. (Cl. 178-34) ABSTRACT OF THE DESQLOSURE A telegraph printer of the type employing a pair of print hammers including a hammer actuating shaft that oscillates through a predetermined arc during each cycle of the printer, a pair of camming members mounted on the actuating shaft adjacent the hammers for pivotal motion with respect to the hammers, a code bar controlled blocking member mounted for movement into a blocking position with respect to the camrning member associated with a selected one of the hammers thereby preventing pivotal movement of the blocked camming member and forcing the blocked camming member into engagement with its respective hammer, a pair of latching members one positioned adjacent each of the hammers and each mounted for latching engagement with its respective hammer Whenever that hammer is engaged by its associated camming member and means driven by the actuating shaft for operating both latching members in an unlatching manner thereby unlatching the latched hammer.

This invention relates to a telegraph tape printer for printing stock quotations and more particularly to a telegraph printer for printing characters selectively on two levels of a tape, commonly known as a stock ticker.

With the large volumes of stock transactions occurring in days of heavy trading on the stock market, the so called high speed stock tickers have been unable to keep up with the transactions occurring at the exchanges. Consequently, with the currently used stock tickers, the ticker frequently lags behind the market by as much as two or three hours.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the time lag between the occurrences of transactions on the stock exchange and the reporting of the transactions to outlying points.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stock quotation printer operable at higher speeds than those provided heretofore.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a stock quotation printer wherein only one of the print hammers, will effect the printing operation, will be ser lecte-d for operation in each cycle of the printer.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of mechanism which upon receipt of a code combination representative of a character will select and prepare only one print hammer for actuation on each cycle of the printer.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a receiving selector mechanisn is provided for controlling the selective actuation of a plurality of code bars which control the operation of an aggregate motion type of mechanism which in turn will position a type box longitudinally to a selected one of a multiplicity of positions and will shift the type box laterally to one of two positions so that two type pallets in the type box are moved to operative association with a pair of print hammers operable selectively to print on one of two levels of a tape positioned in association with the type box.

In the preferred form of the invention one of the code bars actuates a slide member having interposing members formed on it selectively positionable to control the selection of a print hammer for actuation. The interposing members serve to block stop members pivoted on actuating cranks which are operated once in each cycle of the apparatus. Each crank has a cam surface on it which, when its associated stop member is blocked, will cooperate with a cam roller on a print hammer driving member to cam the driving member to a position where it is latched preparatory to driving a print hammer associated with it. A print hammer lever, carrying a print harnmer, is biased to follow the hammer driving lever and, near the end of the cycle of operation of the apparatus, is driven by the driving lever and actuates the print hammer associated with that driving lever when the lever is unlatched. The cranks are actuated by an oscillatory shaft when it is turned in one direction and the latches, which latch the driving members in latched position, are actuated by the shaft in turning in the opposite direction.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawin s wherein,

FIG. 1 is an end elevational view of a stock quotation printer constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the print hammer actuator portion of the printer taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2, in the direction of the arrows, showing details of the latch mechanism and print hammer driving member;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 in the direction of the arrows, showin" the print hammer levers and details of the print hammer mechanism; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3 looking upwardly at the mechanism for selecting and actuating one or the other of the print .ammer drivin g members.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate the same parts throughout the several views, particular reference being had to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the apparatus includes an orientation device or range finder designated generally by the numeral 11 for adjusting a selector mechanism designated generally by the numeral 12 to incoming line signals. The range finder mechanism preferably is of the type disclosed in detail in the patent to C. W. Swan, No. 2,624,799, issued Jan. -6, 1953, and the selector mechanism 12 is preferably of the type shown in the patent to W. I. Zenner, No. 2,595,745, issued May 6, 1952. The range finder mechanism 11 and selector mechanism 12 are described in detail in the aforementioned patents to which reference may be had for the details of the operation of them. As described in the patent to W. .l. Zenner, above-identified, incoming telegraph signals are applied to an electromagnet 13 which controls the operation of the selector mechanism 12 and through the selector mechanism 12 controls the setting of code bars 14. The setting of the code bars 14 is efifected by Y levers 15 and, while the code bars 14 are the same as the code bars of the Zenner patent, in the present invention they simply serve to actuate a series of clutches (not shown) in an aggregate motion mechanism designated generally by the numeral 16. This aggregate motion mechanism 16 may be of any suitable type but preferably is of the same general type as that shown in the patent to H. Pfannenstiehl No. 1,533,207, issued Apr. 4, 1925. This patent shows an aggregate motion mechanism having a plurality of clutches that are actuated selectively to cause the aggregate motion mechanism to position a type wheel.

In the structure embodying the present invention the aggregate motion mechanism 16 drives an output link 17 (FIGS. 1 and 2) that is pivotally connected to a type box support 18 in which type box 19 is mounted. The type box 19 is provided with four rows of type pallets 20 and the aggregate motion mechanism 16 through the link 17 will move the type box to any one of sixteen positions to align a level of four rows of type pallets 20 with a printing position where two of the rows of type pallets 20 will be aligned with print hammers 21 and 22, respectively. The type box 19 is slidably mounted on a support member 23 and may be reciprocated longitudinally on the support member 23 by the link 17. The support member 23 is in turn carried upon a pair of slides 24 of exactly the same construction located at opposite ends of the apparatus. Only one of the slides 24 is shown and it is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing as beingslidable on posts 25.

The present apparatus is designed for operation under control of a six-unit code wherein the first four units of the code will control the longitudinal movement of the type box 19 to select any one of sixteen levels of four type pallets 20 and position them in alignment with the print hammers 21 and 22. The fifth unit of the code controls the movement of the slides 24 to position two out of the four rows of type pallets 20 in alignment with the print hammers 21 and 22-. The sixth unit of the code selects one or the other of the print hammers 21 or 22 for actuation, thus to make the final selection of the type 26 to be actuated. The lateral shifting of the type box 19 to align two rows of type 20 with the hammers 21 and 22 is effected by oscillating a shaft 31 (FIG. 1) in one direction or the other under control of a clutch (not shown) which is tripped by the No. code bar 14. The shaft 31 has gears 32 fixed on it which mesh with racks 33 formed on the slides 24. Only one rack 33 and one gear 32 are shown but it will be apparent that the gears 32 and racks 33 are positioned adjacent opposite ends of the apparatus to move the slides 24 in a rectilinear path. The selection of the print hammer 21 or 22, to be operated, is controlled by the No. 6 code bar 14 which acts directly on a lever 34 to rock the lever 34 in one direction or the other, about a pivot post 35 (FIG. 2).

As is usual in stock quotation printers the alphabetic characters which identify the stock are printed on the top row of a tape and the numerical characters indicating the sale price of the stock are printed on the bottom row of the tape as indicated by the letter T and the number 145 shown on the tape 36 in FIG. 1. The tape 36 is fed step-by-step to the printing position by a knurled roller 37 (FIG. 2) which has one step of rotation imparted to it after each printing cycle of the machine. A hand wheel 38 is also provided for feeding the tape manually out of the printer when desired. The tape 36 is held in engagement with the knurled feed roller 37 by a pressure roller 39. An inked ribbon feeding mechanism designated generally by the numeral 40 guides a ribbon 41 between the type bearing ends of the type pallets and the upper surface of the tape 36.

The type carrying mechanism, i.e. the type box 19, will be moved through one increment of travel by the aggregate motion mechanism 16, if the first element of the code received in the selector mechanism is marking, through two increments if the second element is marking, through four increments if the third element is marking and through eight increments if the fourth element is marking. Thus, if elements 1 and 2 of the code are marking, the type box 19 will be moved three increments, if elements 1 and 3 of the code are marking the type box 19 will be moved through five increments, and so forth, down to the point where if elements 1, 2, 3 and 4 are marking the type box will be moved through 15 increments from its original position which constitutes a sixteenth type box position. In this manner the first four pulses of the received code combination will control the 4 longitudinal positioning of the type box 19 in its sixteen positions.

Since, as described hereinbefore, the fifth element or unit of the code combination controls the positioning of the type box 19 in its two lateral positions, the sixth unit or element of the code is used to select one or the other of the print hammers 21 and 22 for operation and this selection is effected by the N0. 6 code bar 14 through the operation of the lever 34.

At its lower end as viewed in FIG. 2, the lever 34 has a bifurcated end 45 into which there extends a pivot stud 4-6 that is in turn fixed to the No. 6 code bar 14. The pivot post 35 on which the lever 34 is pivoted is mounted on a horizontally extending portion 43 of a bracket 44. The upper end of lever 34 has a slot 47 formed in it into which there extends a drive post 48 that is fixed to a slidable plate 49. The slidable plate 49 is mounted for reciprccatory movement on a pair of guide posts 50 (FIG. 3) which extend upwardly from the horizontal portion 43 of the bracket 44 and serve to guide the plate 49 when it is moved by the lever 34.

The bracket 44 is mounted on the underside of a casting 55 suitably attached to the framework of the apparatus. This casting 55 has journalled in it a print hammer actuating shaft 56 which is oscillated through a predeterminated are once in each cycle of the apparatus. Suitably fixed to the shaft 56 is a crank member 57 which has its depending end pivoted to a drive link 58 that is pivoted to a drive crank 59. Crank 59 is in turn fixed to a secondary drive shaft 60 which is oscillated by a suitable cam (not shown) once in each cycle of the apparatus, that is, once for each complete code combination received by the selector mechanism 12.

The slidable plate 49 (FIG. 2) has a post 61 attached to it which registers with either one of a pair of notches 62 formed in a retainer plate 63 that is suitably pivoted on the bracket 44 and urged to rock counterclockwise (FIG. 2) by a coil spring 64. The retainer plate 63 will thus hold the slidable plate 49 in either of its selected positions. The slidable plate 49 is provided with a pair of interposer members 65 and 66 which may be moved into the path of stop members 67 and 68, respectively, when slidable plate 49 is moved to its selected positions. The stop members 67 and 68 are pivotally suspended from a pair .of cranks 69 and 7 0, respectively, that slide in suitable grooves 71 in an irregularly shaped guide member 72 that is attached to the horizontally disposed portion 43 of the bracket 44. Similarly the free ends of the cranks 69 and slide in slots 73 and 74, respectively, formed in an upwardly extending portion 75 of the bracket 44.

The shaft 56 has fixed to it a pair of crank members 76 and 77 to which the cranks 69 and 70, respectively, are pivoted. The crank members 76 and 77 have projecting portions which engage latches 78 and 79 that are slidably mounted in the irregularly shaped guide member 72 and are urged upwardly, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4, by contractile springs 80 and 81. A pivot shaft pivotally supports a pair of hammer actuating levers 91 and 92 on which there are rotatably mounted cam rollers 93 and 94, respectively. The pivot shaft 90 is fixed in a pair of extending projections 95 formed on the bracket 44 and in addition to supporting the levers 91 and 92 also pivotally supports a pair of hammer driving levers 96 and 97. The latches 78 and 79 have laterally extending latching fingers 103 and 104 (FIG. 5) formed at their ends which cooperate with latch members 105 and 106 that are pivotally mounted of the hammer actuating levers 91 and 92, respectively. The latches 7 8 and 79 when they are released by the crank members 76 and 77 will be urged by their springs 80 and '81 to engage the sides of the latch members and 106 and if either the latch members 105 or 106 is raised by its associated crank 69 or 70 the latch 78 or 79 associated with the actuated hammer actuating lever will move under a latch shoulder 107 or 108 on the latch r member 105 or 106 which has been raised.

Guide slots are formed in a portion of the guide member 72 to guide the latch members 105 and 1106 and restrict their rocking movement with respect to their associated hammer actuating levers 91 and 92 so that when one of the hammer actuating levers 91 or 92 is moved upward, i,e., rocked counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be latched in its upper position by its associated latch 78 or 79 until the shaft 56 rotates clockwise to cause the latches 78 and 79 to be retracted to the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This retraction of a latch 73 or 79 which had been holding its associated hammer actuating lever 91 or 92 in its operated position will occur from near the end of the operating cycle of the apparatus and will release the hammer actuating lever and permit it to be snapped downwardly by its associated actuating spring 109 or 110 which is connected to the hammer actuating levers 91 and 92 and to their associated cranks 69 and 70. This will carry the hammer actuating levers 91 and 92 back to the positions shown in FIGS. 4 and 3, respectively, where a laterally extending lip 111 or 112 on the levers 91 and 92 will strike abutments 113- or 114, respectively, on a guide block 115 that is suitably attached to the horizontally disposed portion 43 or the bracket 44. It should be noted that the upper (left-hand, FIGS. 3 and 4) surface of the cranks 69 and 70 are normally displaced a short distance from the cam rollers 93 and 94 on the levers 91 and 92, respectively, and that the springs 109 and "110 attrahently bias the cranks 69 and 70 toward their associated cam rollers 93 and 94.

The guide block 115 slidably supports a pair of hammer carrying members 120 and 121, the upper ends of which are pivotally attached to the hammer driving levers 96 and 97, respectively. The hammer carrying members 120 and 121 have the print hammers 21 and 22 attached to them by contractile springs 122 which tend to hold the print hammers 21 and 22 tightly against the lower end (right-hand, FIG. 4) of the hammer carrying members but will permit the print hammers 21 and 22 to overtravel when the hammer driving levers are snapped downwardly by their associated hammer actuating levers 91 and 92. The hammer driving members 96 and 97 are interconnected with the hammer actuating levers 9'1 and 92 by contractile springs 123 which are tensioned to hold the upper surface of the hammer driving levers 96 and 97 against laterally extending projections 125 and 126 formed on the hammer actuating levers 91 and 92, respectively.

In the other operation of the apparatus the reception in the selector mechanism 12 of the first five bits or levels of a code combination will trip the clutches (not shown) in the aggregate motion mechanism 16 to actuate the link 17 and the slides 24 thereby to position two type pallets 20 directly under the print hammers 21 and 22. The sixth pulse of the code combination, comprising the sixth bit or level, will actuate the No. 6 code bar 14 to rock the lever 34 about its pivot 35 thereby to position the slidable plate 49 in a selected position under control of the sixth bit of the code combination. This will effect the selection of the case of the character to be printed and consequently will select the location on the tape 36 on which this character will be printed. The slidable plate 49 is shown in FIG. 2 in the upper case or FIGS position where it will be latched by the retainer plate 63 and when this situation prevails the upper case or FIGS characters will be printed on the lower level of the tape as illustrated by the characters 1, 4 and 5 on the tape 36 in FIG. 1.

With the slidable plate 49 in the position shown in FIG. 2 it will have its interposer member 66 directly under stop member 68. Consequently, when the shafts 56 is oscillated counterclockwise (FIGS. 3 and 4) the lower end of the stop member 68 will be blocked by the projection 66. Thus, as the shaft 56 continues to rotate counterclockwise, in its cycle of oscillation,.the upper surface of the crank 70 will engage the cam roller 94 and force the hammer actuating lever 92 upwardly (counterclockwise, FIG. 3) about the shaft As shaft 56 thus rocks the hammer actuating lever 92 counterclockwise, the hammer driving lever 97 will be carried with the lever 92 since the spring 123 at this time holds the upper surface of the hammer driving lever 97 against the projection 126 on the hammer actuating lever 92. As the levers 92 and 97 rock counterclockwise (FIG. 3) the latch member 106 will be drawn to the left (FIG. 3). When the shaft 56 starts to rock counterclockwise, the crank member 77 in rocking with the shaft 56 will permit the latch 79 to move upwardly as viewed in FIG. 3 to bear against the latch member 106 which is riding in a slot in the guide member 72. As soon as the latch member 106 ha been moved to the left far enough to permit the latch 79 to move under shoulder 108 on latch member 106, the hammer actuating lever 92 and the hammer driving lever 96 will be latched in their uppermost position but will be tensioned to move downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 3 by the contractile spring 110.

Due to the fact that the slidable plate 49 has moved its interposer members 65 and '66 to position where the stop member 68 will be blocked by its interposer member 66 but the stop member 67 will not be blocked by its associated interposer member 65, only one print hammer, that is the print hammer 22, will be selected for operation. When the shaft 56 rocks counterclockwise (FIG. 4) the crank members 76 will rock with it and will move the crank 69*. Since the stop member 67 is not blocked from moving to the right, the crank member 76 will move the upper surface of the crank 69 against the roller 93 and the crank will ride on the roller 93 without raising or rocking the hammer actuating lever 91. Due to the configuration of the upper surface of the crank 69 the free end of the crank 69 will rock in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 4) in the slot 73. In View of the fact that the hammer actuating lever 91 does not move, its associated latch member will not be moved to the left (FIG. 4) and consequently the latch '78 will engage the surface of the latch member 105 to the left of the shoulder 107.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that only one print hammer 21 or 22 will thus be selected for operation on each cycle of the apparatus.

When the shaft 56 in its oscillation, rocks in a clockwise direction (FIGS. 3 and 4) it will lower the crank 70 away from the cam roller 94 and as it nears the end of its clockwise movement the crank member 77 will engage the latch 79 to withdraw it from the shoulder 108 on latch member 106, thus to permit the spring 110 to snap the hammer actuating lever 92 back to the position where its lip 112 will engage the abutment 114. Since the laterally extending projection 126 is normally held in engagement with hammer driving lever 97, the hammer driving lever 97 will be snapped downwardly. After the lip 112 strikes the abutment 114, the hammer driving lever 97 will continue to move a short distance, stretching its spring 123 until the hammer carrying member 121 drives the hammer 22 into engagement with the type pallet 20 to drive the type pallet 20 which is in alignment with it, thus to etfect printing on the tape 36. If the lever '34 is rocked to its opposite position, that is, counterclockwise from. the position with which it is shown in FIG. 2, the interposer member 65 will be moved under the stop member 67 and the hammer 21 will be actuated to print a letter in the same manner as described in connection with the printing of a numeral by the print hammer 22.

Although only one embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the foregoing specification it will be understood that the invention is not limited to that specific embodiment, but is capable of modification and rearrangement, and the substitution of parts and elements without departing from the scope of the invention.

7 What is claimed is: 1. In a stock ticker responsive to received telegraph code combination signals for separately effecting printing on discrete areas of a ticker tape and having type pallets positionable in operative relation to said areas under control of certain levels of received code combinations,

hammer;

a pivot shaft;

a pair of print hammer driving levers pivoted at one end on said shaft;

a print hammer carrying member on the opposite end of each hammer driving lever;

a pair of print hammer actuating levers also pivoted on said pivot shaft for individually actuating said driving levers;

resilient means interconnecting each driving lever with its associated actuating lever;

a slidable plate for movement to either of two positions under control of another level of each received code combination for determining which one of the pair of hammer actuating levers is selected for operation;

means operatively associated with said plate for control by the plate to effect the selection;

a latching means carried by each hammer actuating lever;

power means for rocking the hammer actuating lever that is selected for operation to a predetermined position;

a latch individual to each latching means for cooperation with the latching means to hold the hammer actuating lever individual to it in said predetermined position;

resilient means for urging said hammer actuating levers out of said position to operate it; and

means driven by said power means for tripping said latch out of cooperative relation with the latching means to release the hammer actuating lever to effect operation of its hammer driving lever.

2. In a stock ticker responsive to received telegraph code combination signals and having a pair of print hammers for separately effecting printing on discrete areas of a ticker tape and also having type pallets positionable in operative relation to said hammer under control of certain I levels of received code combinations comprising,

means individual to each of said print hammers for causing the hammer individual to it to impinge a type pallet positioned in operative relation to the hammer;

a pair of hammer operating assemblages individual to said hammers for operating said last-mentioned means;

a hammer actuating shaft oscillated through a predetermined are in each cycle of operation of the printer;

a pair of crank members fixed to said shaft;

a pair of cranks pivotally attached to said crank memher;

a stop member pivotally connected to said crank;

selecting means set to one of two positions under control of another level of the received code combination and having interposer members formed on it selectively movable into the path of one or the other of the stop members to block movement of the stop member when the shaft is oscillated in one direction thereby to provide a fixed pivot for the crank which will cause the crank to actuate its hammer operating assemblage and move it to a predetermined position;

means for latching the hammer operating assemblage in said position; and

an extension on the crank member for tripping said latch mechanism upon oscillation of the shaft in the opposite direction.

3. In a stock ticker responsive to received telegraph code combination signals for separately effecting printing on discrete areas of a ticker tape and having type pallets positionable in operative relation to said areas under control of certain levels of received code combinations,

a pair of print hammers, one disposed normal to each discrete area of the tape for engaging and actuating a type pallet positioned in operative relation to that area;

a pair of hammer carrying members individually attached to each hammer for actuating its associated hammer;

a pivot shaft;

a pair of print hammer driving levers pivoted at one end on said shaft and each pivotally supporting a print hammer carrying member on its opposite end;

a pair of print hammer actuating levers also pivoted on said pivot shaft for individually actuating said driving levers;

resilient means interconnecting each driving lever with its associated actuating lever;

a slidable plate for movement to either of two positions under control of another level of each received code combination for determining which one of the pair of hammer actuating levers is selected for operation;

a latching member carried by each hammer actuating lever;

a print hammer actuating shaft moved through a cycle of oscillation in each cycle of operation of the ticker;

a pair of crank members fixed to said hammer actuating shaft;

a crank individual to each crank member and having one end pivoted on its associated crank member for separately rocking the actuating levers to set positions;

a contractile spring interconnecting each crank and its associated hammer actuating lever;

a separate stop member pivoted on the opposite end of each crank member;

interposer members on said slidable plate for selectively blocking movement of said stop member to form -a fixed pivot for the associated crank whereby oscillation of the hammer actuating shaft in one direction will rock the crank about the fixed pivot and cause it to engage and move the hammer actuating lever to said set position against the action of the contractile spring;

a latch individual to each latching member for cooperation with the latching means to hold the hammer actuating lever individual to it in said set position; and

means driven by said hammer actuating shaft for tripping said latch out of cooperative relation with the latching means to release the hammer actuating lever to permit the contractile spring to operate the hamrner actuating lever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,932,763 10/1933 Bancroft 17834 2,257,828 10/1941 Wheeler et a1. 17834 2,644,033 6/1953 Stalbecker et a1. 17833 THOMAS A. ROBINSON, Primary Examiner. 

